DA Davidson Has Lowered Expectations for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price target trimmed by DA Davidson from $357.00 to $325.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CAT. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $359.36.

Caterpillar Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of CAT opened at $284.31 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $362.79. The company has a market cap of $135.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $285,382,000 after buying an additional 5,371 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 47.2% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $854,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,208,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 26.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.